Zinc Bar and Grill

Popped in here for a quick drink on a Friday night. I quite like the bar area as it has a range of high/​low seating and you can get a view on the world going by outside which makes it also a great place for a daytime coffee. Good range of cocktails and wine. An easy to find venue which is a great meeting place for a pre cinema or shopping trip drink.

G&Ts to die for!!!

Date of visit: Oct 31,2012 (Yes, on Halloween lol)
Came here with my cousin for my aunt’s birthday. Very fancy and posh place with an extremely pricey menu however this was a special occasion and you can’t be a cheapass when it’s for a special occasion.
Food was very good but typical upscale small portions.
Definitely a great place to take a date, if you can afford it.
Not sure why, but the toilets/​restrooms are down 2 flights of stars? Odd.

Wow. Mixed experience but will definitely be back again.
Long story, short, breakdown in communication meant we had to wait almost an hour for our mains (two sirloin steaks), one of which wasn’t cooked as requested. Manager quickly came over and took the mains OFF the bill.
Excellent recovery. Food was also excellent.
We’ll be back as a bad situation was made good very quickly.
Well done the manager.

It takes a pretty amazing place to have me continue to eat throughout a traumatic conversation.
Hehe, bet that got your attention. Nope, I shan’t divulge details, but the fact that the situation in Zinc between myself and my fellow diner wasn’t exactly fabulous should have made the food taste like mothballs. Well, it didn’t. It tasted supreme. And it started out perfectly well enough too, the sun was shining, the tunes were delightful (courtesy of Mr Phil Rogerson of my first Elite Event fame) and the menu looked FIT. Plus the service was ridiculously good, my coat was taken and I was looked, nay, gazed, right in the eye when it came to taking orders.
Firstly, I’d always meant to go to Zinc. When I first moved to Manchester and began to familiarise myself with its culture and history, I realised Tony Wilson (RIP) was a pretty big deal. Imagine my delight and surprise when I trundled past Zinc (so much has changed in The Triangle, Zinc hath always remained) and spotted Mr Wilson himself dining alfresco. Well, I thought, that place must be aces. Yeah, it only took me like 8 years to try it out. Stupid ELH. But heck, it was worth the wait. One glance at the menu and I’d already decided what I wanted. Mezze platter with a little help, and some Thai prawn fishcakes please.
First of all, the bread and olives we started with were all kinds of amazing. So fresh, crisp and doughy was the focaccia and rustic white, warm to the touch and deliciously melty, and the olives were green, vibrantly colourful, firmly textured and with stones intact. So flavourful. Phil had assured us that this was the best homemade houmous he’d ever tried when it came to the platter, and boy he was right. All the other dips were righteous too, the butternut squash fritters were too sexy, the falafel was spicy and dense and the filo-​wrapped feta cheese and halloumi skewers with cherry tomato deserved awards, along with crisp flatbread for dipping. And the prawn fishcakes were something else, huge chunks of prawn and perfect round slices of spring onion… With a cake that rocky, how does it stay together? Who knows? It’s magic. Yet it doesn’t even fall apart. It is robust. Plus even the sauces like the sweet chilli and the barbecue were absolute perfection.
I’ll be back to Zinc, and I know that my personal drama experienced won’t have corroded such a precious metal. With food this good, that’s absolutely impossible.

What a great birthday night out… well early birthday night out!
The atmosphere was intimate and laid back, with a lounge/​bar area and a separate restaurant. The décor is pretty much standard; trendy and understated. We had booked a table and though we got there a bit late, we were asked if we wanted to go to the bar for a drink or straight to the table.
The staff were very friendly and attentive, and silver service standard. Even picked up my friends napkin off the floor whisked it away and brought back a fresh one! Its little touches like this that set apart a 5* place for me.
There was a good selection on the menu something for everyone really. My friends had the Burger and the sirloin steak these were both really good. Although the steak was well done (at request), so overcooked for me, the quality of the meat still shined through.
I had the special, king prawn and chilli risotto, this was perfectly cooked and seasoned and just the right amount to fill me up. There were plenty of really large prawns and it tasted delicious.
It is expensive but I would say definitely worth it. Friendly, intimate and laid back.

Zinc Bar and Grill on Exchange Square is a great place to go to with your parents as the prices are a little extreme for a student budget. I’d say it is overpriced but the food is really good so possibly worth it.
When the sun’s out, sit outside and enjoy people watching. Equally pleasant to sit inside — the lower level is better because it feels more luxurious than the standard restaurant seating upstairs that looks out onto the Triangle shopping centre.
Mains include Mushroom Risotto (£10), Tandoori Seabass (£16.25) and Flash Grilled British Steak (£16) so a good range of British dishes with a twist. Everything I’ve had is delicious — in particular the chips and buttered spinach on the side.
Desserts are equally yummy — the Crème Brulee with a lemon biscuit (£6) is fab and really refreshing. It’s also quite pleasant to sit near the bar and have a few glasses of wine, the Pinot Grigio’s really good.
The only negative thing is that it’s about a 15 minute walk to get to the bathrooms (slight exaggeration…).

Zinc is owned by the restaurant company that also has under its umbrella Piccolino’s, Restaurant bar & grill and Bank. Now I know what you thinking here we go another review on a chain. Hold your horses though, Zinc ain’t that bad. It actually adds bit of character and cosmopolitan to Exchange square.
It is perfect for pre-​concert dinner and drinks, MEN arena is a short walking distance away. You can eat inside with an open plan kitchen enjoying the hustle, bustle and nice foodie aromas, or in the summer sit outside watching the world go by.
It is very stylish but fairly informal, the menu is creative. Last time I was there which was a while back I had chicken breast with Malayan spices and me mate was happy with his crème Catalana. We stuck around for a few cocktails afterwards as the bar was buzzing with atmosphere and we were in the right place at the right time to get on the sofa.
Definately worth a try, but I don’t go that often because I just think there are better restaurants out there which give you a lot more for your money. Just goes to show that Manchester has heck of a lot to offer diners.